KQED's Perspectives

It's Pride month, and as usual the parades will be marked by corporate floats and contingents sporting rainbow flags. Mike Blasenstein wonders if that level of support from business is enough.

Witnessing a protest in Tel Aviv inspired Jim McTarnaghan to interrogate the role of the ‘dem’ in democracy.

When high school student Alex Argov returned to in-person classes, he discovered a new motto that helped him readjust to the new social environment.

Ebony Haight is tired of pretty words and disavowals of racism not backed up by action. It is, she says, your turn to do something about it.

With Father’s Day coming up, Evan Ho reflects on the joys of raising a child.

A Buddhist ritual helps Lauren Vuong cope with the passing of her father.

High schooler Saahil Mishra has a vision for a reformed social media... one that makes us more human.   

Elham Gheytanchi’s father taught her that religion is a private matter. But in recent years she’s started questioning that idea. The following Perspective contains a mention of sexual assault.

After discovering he has the same health condition as his father, Jesse Alejandro Cottrell grapples with aging and other ways he's similar — or dissimilar — to his dad. 

On her 22-mile runs, Munira Shamim encounters runners with varying athletic abilities and backgrounds. It's why she sees the trail as a great unifier and community. 

Irena Smith is keenly aware of the expectations weighing on teenagers and parents alike. And she's come to realize what metric of success really matters to her. 

A poem in a volume pulled from a bookstore shelf, helps Simone Green navigate her journey of discovery.

Birdsongs at sunrise provide Theresa Padden and her mother with a moment of shared beauty while an inevitable loss looms over them.

What happens when your favorite books and movies lose their luster? Richard Levitt shares how he’s trying to get his groove back.

YR Media's Phoebe Lefebvre grew up around the corner from Oakland's Wood Street homeless encampment. She shares her concerns about the lack of solutions the city has offered the residents who were evicted.

For many Muslims, Ramadan is the most challenging part of the year. For Salma Siddiqui, it’s an opportunity to express gratitude for the right to struggle. 

Pablo Quintanilla says racial deed restrictions are the ghosts that haunt Bay Area home ownership to this day.

Helen Doyle reflects on how California’s spring bloom is flourishing all around us.

May I have this dance? Aurelia Santos invites us to join the festivities.

What can a Turkey and a Tesla teach us about ourselves? Well, apparently a whole lot.

I did it my way; a young San Franciscan shares his thoughts on entrepreneurial success.

How a part time job taught Mannya Sinha about the inherent imbalances of the food service industry.

To most beachgoers, seaweed is just an underwater weed. But to Chloe Chan, it's an introduction to a community of kelp foragers. 

When Alex Giardino's only son left for college, she found her empty nest rapidly filling up with plants. 

Alice Wong can no longer speak. But she still has a voice.